An American airline has carried out a flight in which the aircraft involved used alternative fuels as part of its power source.  The carrier in question, Continental Airlines, performed the flight – which was for demonstration purposes only and, therefore, did not involve any passengers – using a twin-engined Boeing 737 airliner. 

The trial marked the first time that a US-based airline had flown an aircraft in this way.

One of its engines was run on conventional jet fuel, the other, a combination comprised of fifty per cent jet fuel and 50 per cent biofuel. 

The flight itself lasted under two hours, during which time technical elements associated with the new power source were assessed.

Algae Fuel

The specific material used in the alternative fuel was an algae-based substance.

According to Larry Kellner, the chief executive and chairman of Continental Airlines, the advent of such fuels being used within the commercial airline industry on a widespread basis was likely to be several years off yet.  For one thing, there are not yet enough supplies available, nor are there enough sites to deal with their manufacture.

"The challenge will be to produce it in an efficient way in the quantities we need", Mr Kellner advised.

Much recent experimentation has been going on within the airline industry where alternative fuels are concerned, in terms of both reducing CO2 emissions, and reducing the cost of flying.

Jatropha Fuel

In recent days, another carrier, Air New Zealand, carried out its own test.  Here, oil from a fruit called jatropha was used as a partial means of power alongside the aircraft’s regular fuel source.

According to Continental Airlines, not only was its trial the first of its kind to place in the US, but it was also the first one to have involved a twin-engined aircraft (Air New Zealand’s flight was carried out with a four-engined Boeing 747).  Furthermore, said the airline, it was also unprecedented in its use of algae.

Aside from the fuel issue, the aircraft used by Continental was a standard, unmodified airframe.

Sustainable Biofuels

As biofuels, both algae and jatropha are both thought of in terms of sustainability and, in the future, certain other types of plants could also, potentially, be used as a substitute for conventional fuel.

Alternative aviation fuels are not solely confined to the civilian airline industry either; the US military has also, in recent times, been carrying out experimental flights. 

Last year, a Rockwell B1b Lancer intercontinental bomber achieved supersonic speed on a synthetic fuel blend.

Algae-derived fuel itself has a number of alternative names: among them, oilgae, algal fuel and algaeoleum